It was on this day (November 17) in 2019 that the first case of COVID-19 was discovered anywhere in the world. A 55-year-old man from Wuhan's Hubei province in China was the first one to officially be termed coronavirus positive. Due to a variety of reasons, Chinese authorities officially recognized the first case only on December 8 that year.

Since then, the virus has spread to more than 200 countries. It has killed about 1.33 million people, most of them in the West.

So far, 55 million cases have been detected around the world and this is just the official number. Because of lockdowns and the fear of psychosis engendered by the virus, colossal economic destruction has ensued this year.

US, Brazil and India are among the first-affected countries. India has fortunately not had too many deaths. Also, the recovery rate has been great. Some countries are having to grapple with the second/third wave.

There is literally no one who hasn't been affected by the pandemic. The poorest have been hit the hardest, more because of the lockdowns and lack of economic activity rather than the disease itself.